Alis Libertatis: On the Wings of Magic
by Spottedleafpaw
Summary: Eren Jaeger's journey through Hogwarts was never meant to be a tranquil one. Especially once he befriends the likes of Harry Potter. As each year passes with some incident or another disrupting their course, the students of Hogwarts will be challenged to discover what the real secrets of the school and those within it may be. Hogwarts/SNK detailed AU. HP World, Year 1 to Post-War.
1. Incipiens

After a very long time with writer's block, I have returned with something that has been on my mind for a while now! A comprehensive HP and SNK crossover. Hopefully this first chapter of exposition doesn't bore everyone away, but it was necessary in my opinion. Plus, I am an author very fond of over-detailing and if that displeases anyone, it's their problem. ;)

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Chapter 1

He was dreaming. It was neither a pleasant dream nor a nightmare, but rather something grasping at both ends of the spectrum. For a long while it seemed to be something of an everyday situation at home for them, his family perhaps? It was fuzzy. Sea-green eyes were moving rapidly against his closed pupils, seeing into the recesses of this mixed up memory (or had this even happened before? He wasn't sure); it was uncomfortable, this was not deja vu, he wanted out. Wake up. Blurred figures arguing, a loud smack, flesh hitting flesh, a horrible stream of insults ( _'muggle whore, muddy blood muddy blood'_ ) and then a sickening crunch. A scream, he recognized that voice, suddenly a flash of green light...  
He was awake, thrashing at his blankets until he got too tangled up in them and landed with a thunk onto the wood floor of his room. His sister Mikasa was already there, watching.

"You had a nightmare again." A statement, not a question. She was only ten years old, but acted twice her age. Eren glared at her and pulled himself upright.

"I don't know what it was. Nothing, I guess. Just let up, alright?" he mumbled. She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You were crying. It can't be nothing."

"Leave it alone, Mikasa! What time is it? We have to go eat with dad before he leaves for his trip!" Eren hadn't realized he had been crying, but he aggressively rubbed away any trace of tears as he hopped out of bed to pull some clean clothes out of the large pile that had accumulated on the floor. Remembering his mother had asked him to clean his room yesterday (and the day before that) at the last second, he shoved everything under the bed and pulled the sheets up to make it look tidier. Mikasa watched him with eyebrows raised from the doorway.

"I'll see you at breakfast, Eren," she smiled, turning to go downstairs and leave him some privacy to change.

The dream was already fading away from his mind, and was all but gone by the time he reached the table in the kitchen. His mother was almost done putting the food on the table; his father's coffee was stirring itself, a spoon of sugar floating towards the cup and depositing its contents deftly before hurling itself into the sink. The Daily Prophet was open to the side of his father's plate, a briefcase sitting under it.

"You ready for your trip dad?" Eren asked, accepting the plate his mother had prepared and digging in to the fresh eggs and toast with the proper vigor of a ten year old boy. Grisha Jaeger was the owner of Slug and Jiggers Apothecary on Diagon Alley (which is precisely where the Jaegers lived; in a comfortable flat above the shop) and he was attending a business conference with other potions masters in order to see just what supplies and ingredients would be in demand for the season. Despite this, Dr. Jaeger was also an accomplished Medi-Wizard, and often was called in to St. Mungo's to assist when staff was short. He had been called in a lot over this past month, and Eren was seeing much less of his father because of it. Precious times like this breakfast were important to him, even though he tried to not show his eagerness.

"When Eren gets older and becomes an Auror like he wants to, he can oversee your trips father," Mikasa spoke quietly, but not with malicious intent. Eren whipped around to glare at her, but their mother beat him to it.

"Aurors are very dangerous jobs, aren't they dear? Why would you want to risk your life at something like that? Eren, you know how this sort of thing upsets me!" she spoke quickly and sternly, eyes flashing from her son to her husband.

"Mikasa, why'd you have to say that?!" Eren yelled, feeling only slightly bad as his adoptive sister shrank a little in her chair.

"Enough, Eren. We can discuss this when the time comes for it. I'm all set to go. I'll miss you all, but your mother knows how to contact me in case something happens. Mr. Flourish is right next door, you know he has a magical fireplace that should be able to reach me in conference if needed. Speaking of which, I'm actually just about done here, I should be going..." he took a large gulp of his coffee and stood, gathering the newspaper along with his briefcase. Eren felt his heart sink; he had just gotten to the breakfast table and his father was already leaving...

Karla Jaeger smiled weakly at her husband and turned around from the sink where she was washing the dishes; Eren's mother was a Muggle, so she couldn't do any magic. Yet she took everything in the Wizarding world with a smile on her face despite not quite fitting in; when Eren had shown his first trace of magic at age 5, she had let out a squeal of delight and encouraged him to do his best. Eren was a stubborn child, and thus her stern manner was needed to keep him in line; yet she cared deeply for both her children and had their best interests at heart, that's just the type of mother she was.  
They all rose from the table to give Dr. Jaeger hugs goodbye; Eren felt something simmering inside of him, a powerful sense of urgency as he embraced his father. Before he could explain it to himself, the words were out of his mouth.

"Dad, will you teach me more about magic when you get back?" His father turned, halfway from putting his hat on after fastening his cloak. His eyes seemed to spark a bit behind his round spectacles.

"I will, son. When I return. You'll be going to Hogwarts next year along with your sister, but when I get back from this trip... I'll show you my workshop." He pulled a golden key out from under his cloak where it was fastened around his neck, before tucking it back into place and turning to leave with a wave of his hand. As the door closed, there was a loud pop signaling he had disapparated. Eren let out a breath he hadn't known to be holding, and turned back around to see his mother's scrutinous gaze.

"Eren, you are very young. You can't be expecting to be as good a wizard as some of those Aurors until you are much older," she began, but Eren simply huffed and headed for the door.

"I won't listen to what you say because you're just a muggle, you don't understand anything!" he yelled before racing down the stairs and away from his mother's cries of his name. She would undoubtedly send Mikasa after him, but Eren would try his best to get as far away as he could before she found him and tried to drag him home to apologize.

._._._._._._._.

In a street not too far off, just where Diagon meets Knockturn, a young blonde boy was being pushed around by a group of three large brutes. He let out a whimper but kept his eyes strong, as the rest of him wasn't.

"Take back what you said, you blood-traitor!" one of the two large boys bellowed. "We catch you saying stuff like that again and we'll beat your pretty girly face in, awright?" Their leader, a boy with slick, pale and pointed features let out a snicker and made his way over to the smaller blonde.

"You're Armin Arlert aren't you? What's a Pure-Blood like you doing sympathizing with Muggles?" he asked snottily.

"Because they're people too! Just like you, just like me. We all exist together on the same planet, breathe the same air, eat and drink to survive. You can't deny that, so you can't tell me I'm wrong. Why does that make us any better than them? We all live and die together!" Armin replied, his logic running circles around the goons and seeming to upset their leader even more.

"Crabbe, Goyle! Hit him some more, maybe his large brain will go down a few sizes if you knock it around some," he ordered, but before the larger boys could follow up, a rageful scream was heard from down the alley as Eren came barreling through.

"Oh look, it's little Half-Blood scum himself! Did we say something to offend your Muggle mummy? Let's have him too!" the boys cackled, readying their fists for another warm body to hit. Their expressions changed drastically as a second person appeared following swiftly behind Eren; Mikasa's eyes were vicious and trained sharply on the lot of them, ready to strike. "Bollocks, we need to get out of here! She's here too, she'll kill us!" they whimpered, dropping Armin and running. Their leader seemed torn, but with his protection gone he too turned and ran.

"My father will hear about this!" he screeched as his legs carried him as fast as they could away from the situation. Eren made it over to Armin and immediately helped his best friend up, Mikasa following him and keeping her eyes on the fleeing bullies.

"Should I go after them?" she spoke softly to Armin, watching at the care that Eren took in dusting his friend off.

"N-no, it's not worth it. Draco Malfoy and his goons should never be worth your time," he replied with a small smile. "Plus I upset them enough for them to try to fight with me, that counts for something right?" he said lightly. Eren's eyes narrowed.

"If they try to hurt you again I swear I'm gonna..."

"You, against all three of them? More like two since Draco's a wimp, but either way... I don't think so," Mikasa retorted with a glimmer of teasing in her eyes.

"You need to come home. Mama wants to speak with you," she added softly.

"Hmmph. I'll go home when I'm good and ready. I want to hang out with Armin for a bit," Eren replied, turning with large eyes to face his first and oldest friend.

"Did you get any new books? Anything else about magical creatures?" he asked, curiosity lighting up his young face. Armin nodded vehemently, grabbing Eren's hand and dragging him across the street into the direction of Flourish and Blott's.

"Come on, I'll show you! Grandpa hasn't opened up yet but we can go in as long as we're quiet. You too Mikasa!" he said eagerly, noticing how Mikasa seemed hesitant to join them, as if fearful of intruding. As she was included, however, her eyes lit up and she followed along with a small smile that she hid behind the large red scarf that she always wore.

Armin Arlert was the grandson of Mr. Flourish, the last living owner of the prestigious Flourish and Blott's bookshop on Diagon Alley. Mr Flourish's daughter married Armin's father after they both finished Hogwarts, and Armin was born during the First War. However, his parents vanished sometime after his birth and were never heard from again; Armin's grandfather raised him well, although Armin had always hoped his parents would return to him someday. They too lived above the bookshop much like Eren and his family lived above the apothecary; the two boys had been close from a young age, inseparable almost. The addition of Mikasa was not an unwelcome one, although Mikasa herself often felt that there was something between the two friends that she could never be a part of. It didn't make her unhappy, however, as she knew the two of them didn't do this on purpose.

It was still quite early and not many shoppers would be out until later (which is why it was easy for Malfoy and his goons to pick on Armin; no eyewitnesses) but Armin's grandfather was already stocking the displays with a swish of his wand, sending books to and fro throughout the shop. He gave the children a small nod as they came through the back entrance; when his back was turned, Armin swiped one of the newest editions of "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by Newt Scamander out of the large box it had come in. Hiding it behind his back as best he could, he scurried with his friends upstairs to the apartment where they could properly look at the book in his bedroom. Once they were there, he shut his door and they spread out on his floor with the book in hand.

"Grandpa doesn't like it when you take books without telling him right?" Eren asked, awed by Armin's audacity. Armin blushed a bit but shook his head.

"He likes that I read, says that when I go to Hogwarts it'll be good for me because I'll love to study. I've already read all of my age appropriate books in the store, and some of the First Year stuff too when he's not paying attention. This book is probably the one we'll get to use next year... I'm hoping to get in Ravenclaw," he admitted, blush growing a bit darker as he stared at his friends. "That's what both my parents were, Grandpa says."

"I think Eren will be in Hufflepuff," Mikasa deadpanned; Armin couldn't restrain a giggle at Eren's shocked expression.

"No way! I'm gonna be in Gryffindor! I've got to be! All the important Aurors like Keith Shadis and Mad-Eye Moody were! No way will I be in Hufflepuff..." Eren spoke adamantly, despite knowing that Mikasa was teasing. "If I get into Hufflepuff then you're getting Slytherin," he added. Mikasa shrugged.

"I think you might make it to Ravenclaw, Mikasa," Armin spoke thoughtfully, finger on his chin as he pondered it. "Ravenclaws are supposed to be innovative, intelligent, and strong-minded. I think you fit those pretty well." Mikasa flushed slightly at the compliment Armin had just given her, and nodded gracefully.

"What's in the book, though? Open it up and read it to us!" Eren drew their attention back to the reason they were there; Armin grabbed the book and flipped it open to a chapter about merpeople. As he began to read, he took notice of how intently Eren would be listening, staring at him as he spoke, as if nothing else mattered save the words coming from his throat to fill the room with stories of things they would perhaps see in the coming years of their lives.

By the time he had finished reading 5 chapters, the sun had risen fully into the sky and the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley could be heard from outside. Armin paused in his reading, throat a bit sore from talking so much. Mikasa suggested that they stop by Fortescue's for some ice cream and they all stood up eagerly for this. Armin carefully tucked the book back into the box it had come from, just in time as his grandfather arrived from the cash register to hand them each a handful of knuts and two sickles each; with a wink he walked back over to help a customer who was panicking over not being able to find the newest Gilderoy Lockhart installment. The three friends rushed out onto the cobbled street, heading for the ice cream parlor a little down the way.

After purchasing their current favorites (Mikasa was partial to the earl grey & lavender, Armin to the apple crumble, and Eren to the strawberry & creme) they wandered outside to a table, fingers already sticky and covered with the melting ice cream. As they made to sit down, however, a familiar (drunken) voice greeted them.

"Ello there kiddos! A bit early to be eating ice cream, innit?" Hannes, one of Dr. Jaeger's colleagues when he worked for the Ministry back in the day, was also indulging in his own cone of sweet treat (probably Firewhisky flavored). Eren glared at him while indignantly taking another mouthful of dessert.

"You're eating some too! You have no excuse mister." Hannes let out a bark of laughter at this, and raised his hands in defeat before taking another messy bite out of his own cone.

"I haven't, I guess not. I'm on me break, I gotta get a little sumfink in me, right?" he muttered with a chuckle. "'Ow's your mum, she doin' good yeah?" he asked with a not-subtle-at-all manner about him. Mikasa and Armin narrowed their eyes at each other but it seemed to go right over Eren's head. His brow furrowed as he licked stubbornly at his ice cream, turning around to face the direction of the apothecary where his mom would be most likely doing laundry inside with her muggle methods.

"She's doing fi..." Eren stopped halfway through speaking. A flash of red light, barely visible due to the bright daylight unless you were looking properly, illuminated the window of the top floor of their flat. Mikasa's breath hitched, she had seen it too. Their mother couldn't use magic... With a messy splosh, the two's ice cream cones landed on the ground as they darted off towards their home, Armin and Hannes calling out for them futilely.

It was odd that the shop was closed still; Dr. Jaeger had two assistants who ran the shop for him while he was away. Eren raced up the stairs through the shop front, tripping over something warm lying in his path and sprawling across the wooden floor, knocking a bottle of bat spleens off the shelf. Mikasa was swift and caught the bottle before it crashed into the ground; a scream caught in her throat as she realized that Eren was sprawled on top of the perhaps lifeless body of one of the assistants. She shakily set the bottle down, and reached over to help him up.

"It's happening again," she whispered, frightened but eyes steely. Eren shook his head vehemently, eyes trained on the stairs leading to their apartment.

"I won't let it!" he hissed, fierce. They made their way quietly towards the stairs and opened the door to the stairwell which would lead further up. As soon as they did, they could hear the screams and wails of a woman; their mother. Eren released a growl and began bounding up the stairs with Mikasa close on his heels; he nearly choked as the words from his terrible dream came back to him, eerie and echoing down the stairs like voices of ghouls.

"Filthy muggle whore! Dirty blood, dirty blood." They kept going. "You ready to die like the pig you are?" A loud crunch, the sound of bone breaking. His mother screamed louder. Eren made it to the door leading into their home, which was ajar; two men wearing black robes and white masks towered over his mother's broken form, wands trained on her.

" _Crucio!_ Scream, no one can hear you through our silencing charms!" the men cackled as they watched her writhe in pain on the floor. As they ended the curse and she rolled over to her belly, arm outstretched, her bloodshot eyes met Eren and Mikasa's as they watched, horrified, from the door. Her initial terror turned into a soft smile, weakly mouthing "survive" at them before the two children felt their speech taken from them and strong arms around them; Hannes had scooped them up and began dragging them away from the danger. No matter how much Eren flailed and kicked, not a sound escaped him; he managed to crawl over Hannes' shoulders to face the door once more, only to see his mother get sliced in half by a slicing spell one of the men cast. Eren's silent scream rang through his entire system, his young heart filling and breaking all at once.

 _1 Year Later_

"Come on Eren, we get to shop for school supplies today," Mikasa's soft voice still managed to wake Eren in that moment, and he sat up roughly in the bed that he shared with Armin. It was a bunk bed that Armin's grandfather had transfigured, and Eren was on the top bunk. He had the presence of mind after that night's sleep to not just roll out of bed like he usually did, despite the dream that had plagued him again. He pulled the key necklace out from under his nightshirt, staring at it groggily. For the life of him, he couldn't remember how it got there...

"Eren! Grandpa's already got our books set aside for us, we just need to pay for them..." Armin came rushing in, looking flushed and starry eyed at the prospect of leaving for Hogwarts in two days time. Eren brightened up at the sight of Armin's positivity, and clambered down from the bunk bed in order to get dressed. Once this task was accomplished, he joined everyone else in the kitchen where a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and some hash browns awaited him. Gobbling it up gratefully, he shot a questioning look at Armin who was helping his grandfather with the dishes.

"Grandpa and I wanted to make something special for today since we'll be getting our wands and everything. It's no trouble!" he added hastily at the end, seeing Mikasa and Eren exchange a look. The two siblings had been living with Armin and his grandfather ever since Karla Jaeger was killed by Death Eater fanatics and Dr. Jaeger disappeared immediately after. Eren and Mikasa had been talking often together about somehow repaying Armin's grandfather for his kindness (more than just helping out around the bookstore, which is what the elderly wizard had required of them upon their staying with him) but until they could access their family Gringotts vault, they were unable to. The day had finally come, however, for them to be able to use the vault as stated in their father's will as they were to start school soon.

Upon finishing breakfast, they all proceeded down into the bookshop where already a large mass of anxious shoppers awaited outside. Mr. Flourish chuckled and sent the kids to the bank out the back door, telling them to come back with their money and they could take care of their books in a flash as they had already been set aside upstairs for them. Eren clutched the key around his neck tightly; he remembered that his Gringotts key was in his pocket, so he took it out and fastened it to the same cord that held his father's study's key. He still was uncertain as to how it got there...

As they set off down the street (Armin accompanying them to withdraw a little from his parents' vault) towards Gringotts, they noticed that oddly enough they were the only group of kids without a parent to help them through it. Mikasa had her Hogwarts shopping list folded neatly in her pocket, Eren had the key to their vault, and Armin had already gotten their books for the year squared away. They were already quite independent, and it gave all three of them a mixed feeling of pride and delusion. Gringotts loomed ahead of them, crooked and bustling with activity as always. They pushed through past the lines of people awaiting to see a private banker, and walked straight up to a desk goblin who peered over at them with beady eyes scrutinizing.

"How may I help you?" his gravelly voice was unpleasant to say the least.

"I'm Eren Jaeger, here with my sister Mikasa Ackerman, and we're here to access our vault." The goblin stared at them, eyes sharpening even further as he seemed to recognize the two of them from the papers. The incident with the freak Death Eater supporters rising to kill a muggle woman in the heart of Diagon Alley, and the year before Harry Potter was supposed to enter school no less, was not something of light.

"Do you have your key, Mister Jaeger?" the goblin replied. Eren pulled out the cord from around his neck and held it up for the goblin to see, defiant. The goblin seemed to start at the sight of not one, but two keys being thrust in its face; it pushed its spectacles higher up on its nose and suddenly made to snatch for the keys. Mikasa was too quick for it, however, and she pulled them back into Eren's grasp.

"Give him the vault key, Eren," she muttered calmly. Eren sputtered a bit, but did not protest.

"You can give me both keys, young man. That other key is something... Very interesting. I believe I know to where it goes." Mikasa's hands tightened around Eren's, which still held the keys.

"Eren." Her voice held a warning; she did not believe the goblin. Armin was nervously twisting the hem of his shirt between his hands, observing the scene with a keen eye but saying nothing.

"I'll just give you this key for now. I have no interest in knowing where this goes yet," Eren replied smoothly. Mikasa let out a small breath and relaxed her grip on his hands. He released the Gringotts key into the goblin's hands, ignoring the nasty look he was receiving from the latter.

"Everything seems to be in order. Miss Ackerman is not cleared to enter the vault, but she may accompany you to it," the goblin spoke meanly, and Armin's eyes narrowed. He was withholding information, but now was certainly not going to elaborate. He waved them off with another goblin who was to take them underground into the tunnels, and then turned to Armin himself.

"Um, Armin Arlert sir. Here to withdraw from my parents vault for school things, sir."

"Present your key."

Armin did, and he too was sent along his way. Before reaching the doorway to the vault carriages, however, the blonde turned to rush back over to the goblin's desk.

"Sir, what did you mean Mikasa isn't allowed into the vault?" he asked rather directly. The goblin glared at him.

"She is not authorized. The Jaeger vault is off-limits to a non family member."

"But Mikasa was adopted officially into the Jaeger family, magical bonding and everything. That should clear her," Armin countered, watching the goblin's face closely. It contorted into a look of disgruntlement, as if caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Miss Ackerman will have access to a vault in good time, young man. Now run along before the cart leaves without you."

Armin's eyebrows shot up as he turned around to head back into the depths of Gringotts, puzzling over the words of the goblin who seemed like he had much to hide for no good reason at all.

._._._._._._.

"Did you see how much gold was in there?" Eren repeated once more as they exited the bank. Mikasa rolled her eyes and Armin gave a nervous laugh.

"Yes, Eren. That still doesn't mean we can squander it all," Mikasa replied sternly, staring down at the large coinpurse Eren had filled up while in the vault (and which Mikasa had promptly snatched from him once he set foot outside of it; she knew he would just run off and try to buy a fast broom before getting all their school supplies).

"Madam Malkin's is right over here, we should get our robe orders placed first!" Armin interrupted before Eren could snap back at her; the blonde grabbed Eren's hand and dragged him over to the robe shop with Mikasa close on their heels. They entered the shop and were surprised to find it rather calm; Armin supposed it was due to most savvy witches and wizards having already placed their orders weeks ago.

"First years darlings? Come on up, let me measure you all so I can send you on your way," Madam Malkin's arrival made all three of them jump a little as she appeared from behind a rack of robes as if from nowhere; Mikasa was dragged up first, followed by Armin and then Eren. After their orders were placed with a reminder to pick them up later that evening, the three friends exited the shop and headed straight for Magical Menagerie and Eyelops Owl Emporium in order to pick out their pets. Armin's grandpa had allowed it so long as they promised to keep them out of the shop during non-school months, which was eagerly agreed upon.

"I definitely want an owl, they're so wise and useful," Armin exclaimed softly as they entered the shop together and set their eyes upon the many different creatures that were available. Armin went straight for the owls, staring at them all until he came across a beautiful Tawny Owl with shockingly sea-green eyes. He shot a quick glance over at Eren, who himself sported a similar eye color; Armin blushed, but decided that this owl would be his. He timidly called over an attendant and made his purchase, along with a few boxes of owl treats. "I think I'll name you Oceanus, after the god of the sea from those lovely Muggle stories," he whispered softly to his new pet. Oceanus squawked happily, feathers ruffling and settling again.

Eren and Mikasa had strayed over to the cats section of Magical Menagerie while Armin was over at Eyelops; Mikasa seemed unusually drawn to a slender black cat, while Eren was focusing on a handsome Tabby. Mikasa silently pulled on the attendant's robes and pointed at the black cat, unable to take her eyes off of it.

"Ah, that's a Bombay Black Cat, the only one we got in the store! She's never been this calm with a customer before, she must like you. You want 'er?"  
Mikasa nodded fervently, and without further ado the cat was hers. Armin had joined them at this point, holding his owl perched in his cage. They both looked over at Eren who was still transfixed by the Tabby cat. He seemed to be hissing a bit at the other cats in the cage with him, but every once in a while he would look over at Eren and meow loudly, as if saying 'get me out of here!'

"I think that one likes you, Eren," Armin giggled.

"I like him. How much?" Eren replied suddenly, whirling around to face the attendant. She looked at him with wide eyes.

"We call that one Ares. He's a wild one, always fighting with the other animals. We never expected anyone to want him, he's so vicious... You sure, kid?" she seemed honestly surprised. Eren nodded his head vigorously, stubborn. The attendant shrugged her shoulders. "Alright, he's yours. That'll be 9 Galleons."

They emerged from the shops with their new pets and everything they needed to care for them with in tow, rushing back across the street to Flourish and Blotts in order to deposit them before continuing their shopping. Armin's grandpa waved them over with a smile as they clomped down the stairs again, getting them all fixed up for their books and taking Armin aside to whisper to him about something. Armin's eyes widened and his brow furrowed, but he didn't seem upset. Eren wondered what his grandfather could be telling him, but no sooner had the thought crossed his mind did Armin return to them and clasp his hand once more.

"Grandpa says for us to go get our wands now," he spoke excitedly, pulling Eren outside and past the swarms of shoppers. Ollivanders was past Gringotts and to the North side of Diagon Alley, so they walked a ways before arriving. The shop was dusty and not too many shoppers were in the vicinity; it seemed like the bookshops and supply shops were busiest this day. The three friends entered the ages old wand store, the tinkle of the bell resonating oddly against the muffled shelving.

"Ah, welcome. You must be Armin Arlert, I presume. I've been expecting you," a soft voice caught them off guard once again; Ollivander emerged from behind a large shelf filled to bursting with wand boxes. His eyes were firstly trained on Armin, but he took in the other two quickly and appraised them on the spot. "I see. I have quite a few wands for the lot of you. Armin, this wand is something I worked with your grandfather specially for you. I am expecting it to be a perfect fit, but give it a wave to try it out..." he presented the blonde with a long box where inside lay nestled a beautifully ornate wand. The softly dark wood was carved with swirls resembling ocean waves cresting on the shore, and the handle was a bit lighter in color with more intricate carvings crossing over one another.

Armin took the wand gently in his hand, and timidly flicked it in the direction of the old wandmaker, attempting to imitate something his grandfather would do while casting spells. A simple jet of water emerged from the tip, swirling in an arc and splashing onto the desk. Armin jumped back and nearly dropped the wand in shock; had he just done that? Ollivander chuckled and waved his own wand to clean up the mess.

"Just as I thought, it likes you. Reed, fairly bendy, 12", unicorn tail hair. A wand made from reed is best suited to those who were bold and were eloquent speakers, and prove themselves to be very protective friends, which you seem to be, Mister Arlert. I never work with reed, personally, but I made an exception for you since it was simply the only fit and your grandfather and I have been friends for a long time. Take care of this wand, young man..." Ollivander's speech ended with an eerie look from those pale eyes of his, and Armin nodded vigorously as a deep red blush coated his cheeks. He paid for his wand and stood to the side, waiting for his friends next. Ollivander motioned Mikasa forward, softly asking her name.

"Mikasa Ackerman, sir," she replied politely. Ollivander arched an eyebrow, muttering her last name to himself under his breath a few times as he turned to search his large collection of wands. He brought forth quite a few boxes, but oddly enough removed many of them before even allowing Mikasa to try them. He pulled one out of its box, and let out a small puff of air as he stared at it.

"This, it must be," he murmured, placing the wand delicately in her hands. He motioned for her to wave it. She did, and it seemed that nothing happened at all. Armin looked over at Eren, who shrugged at him noticeably, until suddenly his fingers hit an invisible wall. Eren tried reaching out around himself, frantic, as no matter where he touched, there seemed to be some kind of protective barrier around him. Ollivander chuckled, an odd sound, and waved his wand over the boy until the barrier vanished.

"What was that?" Mikasa asked, incredulously staring at the wand in her hand. It was a lovely rich dark brown color, with a swirling handle of lighter wood at the end.

"Your wand, Miss Ackerman, is of rowan, rigid, 13", phoenix tail feather core. Rowan wood has always been much-favoured for wands, because it is reputed to be more protective than any other, and in my experience renders all manner of defensive charms especially strong and difficult to break. It is commonly stated that no Dark witch or wizard ever owned a rowan wand, and I cannot recall a single instance where one of my own rowan wands has gone on to do evil in the world. Rowan is most happily placed with the clear-headed and the pure-hearted, but this reputation for virtue ought not to fool anyone - these wands are the equal of any, often the better, and frequently out-perform others in duels."

"Sounds like Mikasa," Eren huffed, crossing his arms across his chest and eliciting a giggle from Armin.

"You next, Mister Jaeger," Ollivander was quick, handing Eren a wand before he could even register what was happening. He flicked it confidently, and managed to send an entire shelf of wand boxes flying off their shelves. Ollivander snatched the wand back from him, clicking his tongue. Another was placed in his hand, and this time he sent a jet of steam out that nearly singed off his eyebrows. Next, a wand that flew right out of his hand and embedded itself into the wooden boards beneath him. Eren was getting rather frustrated; why could Armin and Mikasa get their wands so easily while he couldn't?

Finally, Ollivander seemed to still as he placed his hands upon the next box. Scrutinizing Eren, he pulled the wand from its cushioning and gingerly handed it to the young boy. Eren waved this wand and a pleasant feeling seemed to spread through him, a warm light glow alighted his form, until he ceased his movements and it vanished. Eren smiled up at Ollivander, a genuine smile then.

"This feels... Right. What is it?"

"That, dear boy, is a wand made of alder. Unyielding, 15", dragon heartstring core. Alder is an unyielding wood, yet I have discovered that its ideal owner is not stubborn or obstinate, but often helpful, considerate and most likeable. Whereas most wand woods seek similarity in the characters of those they will best serve, alder is unusual in that it seems to desire a nature that is, if not precisely opposite to its own, then certainly of a markedly different type. When an alder wand is happily placed, it becomes a magnificent, loyal helpmate. Of all wand types, alder is best suited to non-verbal spell work, whence comes its reputation for being suitable only for the most advanced witches and wizards. With the combination of dragon heartstring, this wand has never been able to find a true master until you. Use it wisely..."

They paid for their purchases and exited the shop, feeling much more accomplished and powerful than before. Eren pulled his new wand out from its case, looking at it once more in the light of day outside the shop. It was a soft mellow brown color, similar to his own hair, and it was not smooth but rugged, almost as if filled with veins and pulsing with a life of its own. The handle curved slightly at the end, with a strange carving at the point within the wood that looked oddly like a spark of some kind.

Blissful and happy, they proceeded throughout Diagon in order to buy their Potions ingredients from the apothecary (Eren's father had willed him to still maintain ownership of the shop, but until he came of age it was to be run by a trusted friend of his named Rico Brzenka) and their new cauldrons from Potage's. Eren looked more than once wistfully at the nice new series of brooms at the Quidditch supplies store; the Nimbus 2000 was something else, that's for sure. First years could not try out for Quidditch, however, so Mikasa dragged him away from the shop forcefully each time they passed it.

Upon completion of their shopping trip, the three friends returned to Flourish and Blotts and hastened up the stairs to the apartment to pack their trunks. Armin went straight for the books, staring at the many texts he would eventually pore over for hours on end without a doubt. Eren and Mikasa were still transfixed with their new wands, but Mikasa set hers back in its box before starting to pack her trunk skillfully and neatly. Their new pets seemed to be at home in the little flat, Ares running to and fro inspecting everything curiously, Oceanus hooting softly from his perch on the rafters, and Athena (as Mikasa had asked Armin for help in naming her cat) curled up on the large wingback armchair by the fireplace. After some finagling with the trunk packing, they managed to get everything squared away without having too much trouble closing the large lid over their items.

After dinner, Armin snuck back over to his trunk and popped it open in order to remove a book that he had purposefully left on the top: Hogwarts, A History. It was not on the required reading list, but Armin's grandfather had given it to his grandson as a gift, stating that it was one of his mother's favorite books. Her delicate scrawl could be found in some places of the worn pages, and Armin nearly choked up at this revelation. He clutched the book to his chest, and smiled. Eren clambered down from the top bunk in order to sit next to Armin, while Mikasa had snuck into the boys' room to listen to Armin read softly from its pages before they slept.

"We'll be at Hogwarts tomorrow night," Eren murmured suddenly, sea-green eyes flashing in the dark. Mikasa and Armin stared at him, eyes shining as though they could already see the floating candles of the Great Hall...


	2. Adventus

Here we go, the infamous Sorting ceremony is about to happen! Keep in mind that I sorted the Shingekis quite accordingly to their personalities, and I have reasons to explain them all if anyone takes issue with them. Drop me a line if so, but if you can reason it out on your own props to you!

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Chapter 2

The day our heroes would awaken to go to Hogwarts was one of great excitement in the Arlert (well, Flourish to be more precise) household, and the sole adult that lived there took all of this excitement on board and fed it a lavish breakfast of pancakes, eggs benedict, and sliced ham with tomatoes. The young wizards and witch to be were enthusiastic about making it to the train station quite early, and Mr. Flourish was all too happy to oblige. They were to take a portkey into a bathroom located within King's Cross at 10:25 AM precisely, as the train was to leave at 11 per the usual schedule. They gathered their belongings and pets, and Mr. Flourish waved his wand to shrink the trunks to pocket-size before handing them off to each child to stow away. It wouldn't do to have such bulky things weighing them down while trying to hold onto the portkey, let alone land inside a bathroom with. A firm grip (plus help of a sticking charm) was placed on the hands of the owners and cages of the pets, and with that Mr. Flourish produced the portkey which happened to be an old hair comb.

"Everyone take hold, it's one minute til," he instructed. Eren grabbed the end of the comb, Armin's hand next to his and Mikasa holding on to the other end. Mr. Flourish held the middle firmly, and suddenly the sensation of tugging behind ones navel permeated each individual as they were whisked away. They ended up as expected inside the "family' bathroom at King's Cross, which luckily was fairly roomy but still not meant for four people. Pocketing the comb, Mr. Flourish ushered his charges out of the restroom one by one and they began walking towards platforms 9 and 10.

"Look, they must be going to Hogwarts too!" Armin whispered excitedly, pointing towards a large family of redheads who were pushing through the station rather quickly (and rambunctiously) in the same direction as them.

"It looks like the Weasleys, they have a boy your age headed this year. They came to pick up his books about a week ago," his grandfather replied quietly, falling into step behind the family as they neared the barrier leading to platform 9 3/4.

"So, we just run at the wall? Like that?" Eren's eyebrows scrunched up as he seemed to doubt the integrity of such a situation making any sense; they were in Muggle London after all, and his father had never taken him outside of the Wizarding world for any reason.

"Yes, it's just an illusion. Muggles can't see it, and there are anti-Muggle charms in front of it so that they never have a reason to get too close either. Go on, take it at a bit of a run if that helps," Mr. Flourish explained kindly, motioning towards the barrier. Eren took a deep breath, bracing himself, and then taking off with his cat cage dangling in his hand (Ares hissing a bit at all the jostling) straight for the barrier. As he reached the brick which seemingly would have blocked him from going any further, he instead passed right through and ended up on the platform. A gilded iron sign detailing "9 3/4" hung overhead; steam from the scarlet engine of the Hogwarts Express curled at his feet. Families hustled and bustled to get their children on board, dragging trunks and animals and broomsticks across the station. Eren turned when he felt Armin's hand on his arm, signaling he had made it through as well. Mikasa appeared shortly after, and Armin's grandfather arrived to complete their party.

"Let's get you onto a train so we can find you a compartment. I'll need to unshrink your trunks before I go, since you'll be needing those!" he said with a wink as he pushed them through the crowd towards the train. Once aboard, Eren could feel his excitement mounting and they hadn't even left the station yet. Peeking into each compartment only to find them full, he scowled as he passed by the compartment occupied by Draco Malfoy and his goons; three compartments down, and they finally found an empty one. Mikasa pulled open the sliding door and set her cat cage on one of the seats, pulling out her trunk from her pocket and looking expectantly at Armin's grandfather. The two boys followed her lead, and Mr. Flourish waved his wand. The trunks grew back to their original size, and he levitated them to the overhead compartments so that they were out of the way. With a small smile, he opened his arms so that they might give him a hug.

"Write to me every month or so to keep me posted, alright? I'll see you all at Christmas unless you change your minds and want to stay at Hogwarts," he said, and with that he was off. Armin was much too excited to feel sad about it, and he sat down next to Eren with his owl cage on his other side.

"I can't believe we're going to be on our way to Hogwarts!" Eren murmured under his breath; Mikasa's eyes gleamed, and Armin smiled. Just as the train began to roll out of the station, their compartment door opened and a girl with auburn-brown hair tied in a ponytail let herself in.

"Eh... Is it okay if I sit in here? Everywhere else is full up!" she mumbled uncertainly, eyes wide and clutching her trunk weakly.

"Yes, of course! Uh, do you need help with that..." Armin trailed off, noticing keenly how her hold on her trunk was weak because she was clutching a small satchel to her chest with much more enthusiasm. Her cat's carrier was even less important to her in that moment it seemed, lying strapped on top of her trunk as the cat yowled rather impatiently to be let out. Mikasa was on her feet instantly, unstrapping the cat cage and setting it in Eren's lap (he protested for a second before Armin stomped on his foot; 'be nice!' he muttered) before hoisting the trunk above into the overhead compartment. The girl's eyes widened at Mikasa's display of strength, and she sank slowly into the seat beside the darker-haired girl.

"Thank you..." she gulped; not a moment later did she have her bag open and a chocolate frog unwrapped, stuffing it in her mouth whole. She let out an odd noise of contentment through the chewing; Eren gave her a weird look, while Armin tried to stifle his giggles behind his hand. "I'm Sasha by the way. Who're you?" she spoke through mouthfuls of chocolate. As Eren was about to reply, the door opened again and a boy with golden eyes and a strangely buzzed haircut darted in the door, slamming it shut behind him. He had no luggage with him, and he immediately took a dive under the seat where Sasha and Mikasa sat.

"Please don't tell anyone I'm here!" he yelped; Eren and Armin exchanged a look of bewilderment. The cat hadn't stopped yowling throughout this entire exchange, and it prompted the other cats to begin meowing as well. Mikasa's face remained unreadable, unless you looked closely and saw her eyes reflecting irritation and annoyance. For the third time, the door opened to reveal two redheads, older boys who were twins by the look of them.

"Oy, any of you lot seen a bald kid running around these parts? We wanted to take him to see our friend Lee's pet tarantula, he looked pretty spooked," the first twin spoke, grinning from ear to ear as if spooking the kid was exactly what he wanted to happen.

"Er, no... We haven't seen anyone," Armin replied nervously. The twins exchanged a look, and the one who hadn't said anything yet made his way with feigned innocence into the compartment, looking around the top part where the trunks were stowed.

"Well, I'm sure you haven't, but if you do happen to see him..." he began, but froze upon meeting the vicious gaze of Mikasa. A visible shudder went through him, and he began backing out of the compartment. "Uh, Freddie, I think we can find someone else to pr- show the spider to?" the statement ended with a question, and the other twin's eyes met the darkened grey steel that was glaring right at him and he too gulped audibly.

"Yeah, Georgie, I reckon you're right... Er... Let's... OOF!" as he was backing out, he rammed into a very short, blonde girl whose hair was tied up in a bun with some of her fringe escaping. "Sorry, luv! Would you like to come with us to see something spectacular?" he recovered quickly, turning a dazzling smile onto the girl. She glared up at him, expression deadpan.

"No."

"Right then, off we go! See you around!" the twins waved brightly, and the blonde girl spared them another disdainful glance before turning to walk away. The twins had left the door to the compartment open, however, and so Eren reached out to wave at her.

"Do you mind shutting the door for us?" he asked. The girl turned her icy gaze on him, a sneer on her lips as she surveyed their compartment. Everyone (save Mikasa) flinched a bit; the girl rolled her eyes and grabbed the door handle to pull it shut with quite a bit more force than necessary.

"Ugh, she was scary!" Sasha squeaked, stuffing a cauldron cake into her mouth. They had almost forgotten about their stowaway friend hiding under the seat; she let out a squawk as he emerged from beneath her and Mikasa, a small grin on his face.

"Thank you for keeping quiet about me! I'm Connie! Mind if I sit in here for a while? My stuff's in another compartment but they know where that is, I can hide in here for a while maybe and they'll forget about me..." the boy had pulled himself up to sit next to Sasha, who smiled at him nervously while clutching her food bag closer. The cats were still making a racket, and finally Mikasa had had enough and she took Sasha's cat from Eren's lap in order to pet it and calm it down as he was incapable of doing so, it seemed.

For the rest of the train ride things passed rather calmly; they played a few games of Exploding Snap, courtesy of Connie, and Armin fell asleep at one point while leaning against Eren's shoulder as Mikasa continued to best Sasha's luck while opening chocolate frogs (she received the Merlin, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Albus Dumbledore cards, while Sasha received the Supreme First Mugwump and two Circes). As the train neared Hogwarts, the older students who were House Prefects came through to warn everyone to begin putting on their robes. Connie left their compartment, promising to find them as they got off, and Mikasa took it upon herself to drag everyone's trunks off from where they were stowed so that they could change. The First Year robes were plain black, sans House decorations until after they were Sorted. The sky had darkened by the time they had pulled into Hogsmeade station, and as they descended from the trains with their luggage in tow they were told by the Prefects to leave it all in a pile at the station along with their pets; everything would be taken care of.

"Firs' years this way! Firs' years over here!" a loud voice boomed over all the rest of the bustle; Eren turned and his jaw dropped upon seeing the largest and hairiest man he thinks he'd ever set eyes on waving them over. "A-armin! Look!" he hissed, reaching over to grip his friend's hand tightly. Armin let out a squeak and Mikasa swiftly moved to stand in front of them. They were mostly awed, not afraid, but a trickle of fear was present regardless. Sasha smiled at them and tried to be reassuring.

"That's Hagrid, he's the Keeper of the Keys and Grounds. My uncle Florean was telling me about him, he's supposed to be really nice, I never really interacted with him last year though," Sasha whispered. Eren looked at her with wide eyes, confused.

"Are you a Second Year?" he asked; she nodded, and Armin giggled a little as he put the pieces together after her statement.

"Florean as in Fortescue? No wonder you like sweets," he smiled at her, and she grinned back at him.

"I can't wait to try everything the feast has to offer this year... Haaaaahhhh..." she let out a strange needy noise that caused Connie to blush and Mikasa to wrinkle her nose. With that, she waved at them and proceeded to the carriages off to the side while the First Years were ushered in the opposite direction.

"Follow me, everyone! Into the boats!" the large man beckoned them with a lantern towards the lake's edge, where a multitude of small boats that would fit four to five students awaited them. The trio clambered into a boat all together, and were joined by a petite blonde girl who introduced herself as Krista, and Connie, who were also whispering to each other about the large man guiding them across the lake.

The boats began to move, following Hagrid's across the lake; night had fallen at this point, and the stars were all coming out. The moon had risen and shone glassily across the waves; Eren felt the entire setting to be quite magical indeed. As they rounded the corner of the lake's edge, Hogwarts castle came into view: alight with thousands of windows glowing in the dark, turrets reaching towards the sky, its grand presence overtaking the entirety of their vision. Armin's trembling hand reached for Eren's again: it was breathtaking. They continued their journey right up underneath the castle where the boats were to be docked; the First Years scrambled to get off, following Hagrid up a flight of stone stairs that led into the depths of the castle. They reached the Entrance Hall, giant double doors of the Great Hall closed but ready to welcome them. Hagrid left them, and soon a stern looking woman with a pointed witch's hat walked briskly up to the large group of chattering students.

"Welcome. I am Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts and head of Gryffindor House. The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but in a moment, you will proceed through those doors in order to be Sorted. There are four Houses called Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are here, your House will be like your family. Triumphs will earn you House points, while any rule-breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points in their hourglass," she paused to point to four large hourglasses containing gemstones (rubies, sapphires, diamonds, and emeralds) "will be awarded the House Cup. The Sorting is about to begin, so in the meantime I suggest smartening yourselves up before we go inside," she finished, stern eyes looking them over through her spectacles.

Eren straightened out his robes while Armin nervously tried to smoothen his hair down. Mikasa simply tucked a strand of her dark hair behind her ear and stared apprehensively at the doors. McGonagall lined up in two separate single-file lines, and the doors then opened. Eren's mouth dropped at the sight: the Great Hall was vast, four long tables extending side by side and holding a large number of students at each. Floating candles illuminated overhead as they walked, the ceiling bewitched to look like the night sky. At the far end of the Hall sat the professors on an elevated platform, their table running perpendicular to the student tables and with high-backed chairs for each professor. At the foot of the platform's stairs sat a stool, where an old hat was perched. McGonagall led them to this point where upon they began having to crowd together a bit to all fit and witness what was going to happen next. Armin took Eren's hand again out of nerves, and Malfoy along with his goons snickered audibly from behind them. Eren turned to glare dangerously, but before he could retaliate (although it wasn't the best moment for that) McGonagall spoke again.

"When I call your name, step forward and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head. There are 47 of you this year, quite a bunch, so we'll be as speedy as possible here. Abbott, Hannah!"

A thin dirty-blonde haired girl nervously made her way to the stool and sat, the hat placed upon her head. A frayed brim split open wide, and the hat screamed:  
"Hufflepuff!" upon which the table with students clad with yellow and black on their robes began cheering as she shakily stood to go take her place among them.

"Ackerman, Mikasa!"

Mikasa took a deep breath and moved forward, sitting stiffly on the stool with her eyes trained on Eren and Armin the whole time. The hat covered her eyes, and she heard a small voice in her ear (or was it talking in her head?)

"You're a bright one, very keen. Your sharp instincts would have me put you in Ravenclaw, yet there is courage in you. Where to put you..." the hat seemed to be musing over her fate. Mikasa desperately thought of Eren, how he would be all alone in whatever House he would be placed in for he would surely not get Ravenclaw.

"Put me in the same House as Eren. That's all I ask, no, I beg of you," she whispered, fingers tightening on the wooden stool where she sat. The hat said nothing, and Mikasa felt an uncomfortable tugging as what appeared to be memories flashed through her eyes unbidden; she felt dizzy, but held her grip strong and hoped not to fall over. How long had she been sitting there? Five minutes? Ten? Sweat trickled down her brow as the Hat stayed silent. Her heart leapt in her chest when suddenly it exclaimed,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table furthest from the windows erupted into loud, obnoxious cheering as she removed the Hat and walked firmly over towards the table, taking a seat (still facing the direction of the Sorting ceremony as to see where her friends would go) next to the obnoxious twins who had bothered them on the train. They visibly shuddered once more.

"Arlert, Armin!" was next; Eren squeezed his hand and smiled at him as he walked nervously up to where McGonagall offered him the hat. With barely a moment touching his head, the hat's proclamation was heard throughout the Hall:

"RAVENCLAW!"

The table whose students sported robes accented with dark blue and silver erupted into loud cheers, Armin reaching them with a little skip in his step and sitting next to a really tall, somewhat sweaty dark-haired boy who smiled at him kindly. Next was Susan Bones, who was made a Hufflepuff, while Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst were made Ravenclaws. Lavender Brown took her place at the Gryffindor table, while Millicent Bulstrode was the first Slytherin of that evening. Mina Carolina, a girl with black pigtails, was also sorted into Gryffindor, and Michael Corner along with Stephen Cornfoot went to join the other Ravenclaws. Vincent Crabbe, one of Malfoy's goons, and Tracey Davis were also placed in Slytherin, and after that Kevin Entwhistle also joined Ravenclaw. Justin Finch-Fletchely was sorted into Hufflepuff, and Seamus Finnigan was placed in Gryffindor. Anthony Goldstein was made another Ravenclaw, and Malfoy's other main bodyguard Gregory Goyle also went to Slytherin. Hermione Granger was next, and she spent a good five minutes with the hat on her head before it announced her as a Gryffindor; a blonde girl with sleek spectacles, Daphne Greengrass, was placed in Slytherin immediately after. Wayne Hopkins was also made a Hufflepuff, and then...

"Jaeger, Eren!"

Eren jumped a little at his name being called, and proceeded up towards the hat with a determined look in his eyes. McGonagall placed the hat on his head, and the little voice speaking to him was a surprise that he met without flinching.

"This is the mind of the famous Jaeger boy? Your sister was here before you; she begged me to place her in whatever House you would go to, hmm? I can see I was not wrong, yet there is a dark streak in you... I would do well to consider another option..." the hat took a moment to pause, and Eren grit his teeth.  
"She's a busybody alright, but she can't help it. We're family, even if not by name we share blood now. I'm ready to do whatever it takes, just put me in the right House!" he replied, not too worried about others hearing him (although he didn't shout this time, he thinks) but apprehensive towards the hat's decision nevertheless. A moment passes, and then...

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Eren lets out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding; taking the hat off, he proceeds to the Gryffindor table to take a seat by Hermione Granger, who was the last to be Sorted before him.

"Congratulations on getting Gryffindor, you were a bit of a hatstall too!" she spoke rather quietly, as Megan Jones was placed into Hufflepuff behind him.

"H...hatstall?" he wasn't prepared for the onslaught of words; his heart was still pounding a bit from the rush of all that was happening. He caught Armin's eye from across the Hall, and his best friend was beaming at him.

"Yes, when you aren't sorted immediately and the Hat deliberates longer than usual over your placement. I could have gone to Ravenclaw, but here I am," she continued. Eren thought this girl had a bit of a know-it-all disposition, but she didn't seem rude. Mikasa suddenly appeared between them, scooting everyone on the bench over so that she could sit by him.

"Eren, we're in the same House," she stated, eyes shining despite showing little on her face. He rolled his eyes, staring as an arrogant looking boy, Jean Kirstein, was placed in Slytherin.

"Yes, only because you asked it to. The hat told me, you're such a mom! Act more like my sister okay?" he grumbled.

"Oh, you two are related?" Hermione butted in to the conversation from around Mikasa, whose eyes slid over the unwanted conversationalist dangerously. "You have different last names, so not many would know the difference," she defended herself.

"She's adopted," Eren replied, watching as the girl who had ridden the boat with them, Krista Lenz, was sorted into Hufflepuff. He squinted a little as many of the older males at the table seemed to start drooling as she sat down, and was somewhat shocked when a brunet, freckled Slytherin girl from the table behind Hufflepuff's stood up and visibly cracked her knuckles.

Sue Li was placed in Ravenclaw, and a clumsy boy named Neville Longbottom (he had tripped on his way up the stairs from the boats previously) joined them in Gryffindor. Isobel MacDougal went to Ravenclaw, and a boy named Ernie Macmillan who held himself quite pompously was sent to Hufflepuff; shortly after, Draco Malfoy barely had the hat touch his head before it screamed out his place in Slytherin. He smirked and went to join his fellows, making them scoot over so that he could sit by none other than the scary blonde girl from the train. Eren wondered if they were related, both having the same complexion and scowly facial features. Roger Malone was placed in Hufflepuff, and Theodore Nott along with Pansy Parkinson went to Slytherin. Theodore went to sit by the brunet Slytherin who had stood earlier, and she playfully gave him a noogie much to his disgruntlement; they must also have been related. A pair of twins were sorted (and separated) next: Padma Patil went to Ravenclaw, while her sister Parvati joined them in Gryffindor. Mikasa gripped Eren's arm as she seemed to think such a thing as splitting up siblings was upsetting; Eren shrugged her off with a glare.

"Potter, Harry!"

A hush came over the Hall; students craned their necks to see the newest first year called by McGonagall, and even Eren and Mikasa's curiosity was piqued. Harry Potter, the boy who lived? In their year? He was a skinny boy with unruly black hair and round spectacles, the scar across his forehead visible even from their position at the table. Eren and Armin exchanged looks across the tables, excited to find out just where someone who could defeat the Dark Lord as a baby would end up. The hat fell over his head and a hush permeated the Hall as everyone seemed to be holding their breaths.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat's exclamation produced the loudest cheer yet, Eren taking part as well. It wasn't every day that a celebrity of sorts would be sent to join them, and Eren realized he'd be seeing a lot of Harry as the years progressed. The boy awkwardly made his way over to their table and sat directly across from Eren, who smiled at him.

"Pretty good feeling to sit down after that, right?" Eren whispered, and Harry's green eyes met his. He nodded tightly, a nervous smile creeping onto his face as he turned around to observe the final, dwindling amount of students as they were sorted. Oliver Rivers was sorted into Hufflepuff, while Sophie Roper was made a Slytherin; a gangly girl named Runcorn whose first name Eren missed was sent to Hufflepuff, and then Connie Springer followed her soon after with Sally Smith joining them moments later. Dean Thomas, a dark boy who was quite tall for his age joined the Gryffindor table, and Lisa Turpin became the final Ravenclaw of the evening. Thomas Wagner, a nervous blonde boy with the beginnings of rather prominent sideburns went to Hufflepuff, while the redheaded Ronald Weasley made it into Gryffindor (Eren glanced over at the table he sat at and found three other redheaded Weasleys to be sitting there too, it must have been a family thing) and finally, Blaise Zabini went to Slytherin.

As everyone settled in, McGonagall removed the stool and the hat from the front of the Hall and the Headmaster stood up, ensuing another hush throughout the students. Presumably he was to say a few words before the start of the feast, and Eren was getting impatient to be fed so he hoped the speech would be quick.  
"Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you."

With that, the platters before them on the tables filled quite magically with an assortment of foods; everything from roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops, lamb chops, sausages, bacon, steak, joints, steak and kidney pie, appeared before them, along with boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, mashed potato, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and peppermint humbugs. Eren didn't quite know where to start, so he simply piled a bunch of everything on his plate and dug in. Mikasa ate beside him, eyes shining with the thought that they would be eating rather well for the next seven years.

Plenty of conversation was had at the table, and Eren was formally introduced to Ronald's (he preferred Ron) brothers Fred and George, along with their friend Lee. A friendly second-year named Reiner Braun also conversed with them from further down the table, telling them to watch out for the twin's pranks and to never accept anything to eat from them unless they watched someone else eat it first. He said all this with a laugh, and the twins grinned at him but didn't seem upset, which made Eren believe that perhaps they had been in cahoots sometimes. Percy Weasley was a bit of a bossy individual, rule-abiding and rather obnoxious of the fact that yes, he was a Prefect! Their meal was interrupted rather hilariously by Nearly-Headless Nick, the House ghost, who lost his head halfway through talking to Hermione (she seemed a bit put-out when it came to eating after that) and then promptly moved further down the table, offended and embarrassed.

Once dessert was had, Dumbledore began another speech detailing the rules of the castle (which Eren half-listened to, since he was feeling quite full and sleepy) and its grounds, before sending them off to bed. Percy the Prefect guided them towards the large marble staircase going up into the castle alongside the Ravenclaws; the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs took two separate staircases that led down. They followed along into a rather large stairwell with staircases that were moving back and forth, changing as they pleased; Eren's mouth opened a little, and Mikasa pulled him along as he stared. The portraits along the walls moved, waving and trying to get the students' attention as they passed by.

On the Fifth floor, the Ravenclaws turned and began walking down a corridor apart from the Gryffindors; Armin looked over towards his two best friends, eyes shimmering as he realized this was where they would separate. He waved at Eren and Mikasa, who waved back at him and felt a bit sad seeing him go. Eren worried for his friend, hoping that people would be nice to him; those in his same House should be much like him, he thought, so Armin was sure to make friends... The thought unsettled him more than made him feel better, however. Upon reaching the Seventh Floor, Percy guided them down a hallway towards a portrait of a rather large lady who blinked and stared down at them.

"Password?" she asked, her voice low and pompous.

"Caput draconis," Percy replied smartly, and she gave him a little nod before opening to reveal the entrance to the common room. It was a circular room, decorated with squashy red armchairs, tables, and a bulletin board where school notices, ads, lost posters, were to be posted. A window looking out onto the grounds of the school was on one side and a large fireplace dominates one wall. The walls were decorated with scarlet tapestries that depict witches and wizards, but also various animals (namely lions). There were two doorways that led up into the dormitories, and Percy indicated the left one as for the boys and the right one for the girls.

Mikasa was dragged away from him by the flow of girls headed towards their rooms, and Eren didn't spare her much of a glance as he was too excited to get to his bed and rest after such a long day. The boys hurried up the stairs and entered the first room along the spiral staircase they found, as it was the designated dormitory for First Year boys: Eren's roommates for the remainder of his time at Hogwarts were to be Harry Potter, Ron, Neville, Dean, and Seamus it seemed. Mikasa's roommates must have been Hermione, Mina, Lavender, Parvati, and Sally-Anne, as they were the grand total of the Gryffindor First Year girls. Eren breifly hoped that Mikasa didn't upset all of them too much with her bluntness, but it was short lived as he arrived at his trunk placed by the foot of a bed. Harry Potter's bed was on the left side of his, and Neville was to the right. Ron's bed was on the other side of Harry's, close to the door, and Dean and Seamus were along the other wall.

"Oh look, they fixed our robes too!" Dean exclaimed, noting the pile of folded clothing on the chairs by each of their beds; Eren assumed it must have been the house-elves that came in to fix everyone's belongings while they ate.

"That's great, but I'm ready to be out of these robes and into my bed," Eren muttered, yanking his clothes off unceremoniously and digging through his trunk to find his pyjamas. The other boys did the same, curling into their beds as the cool light of the moon filtered through the windows and brought a sense of peace to them all as they drifted to sleep. Eren briefly recalled his cat jumping up onto the foot of his bed before he drifted off, wondering how he had gotten there, and then nothingness as he slept through another night of odd dreams and strange memories that he felt weren't even his...

* * *

It's a shorter chapter, yes, but I'm on vacation right now so the fact that I'm even able to shell this out is pretty impressive (for me) and so hopefully it's enough! Sorting stuff is usually kinda filler-y, but I wanted to showcase who from SNK is in their year, and who is left out is all a year older so that should be fun. Classes will come next, which will be fun. Eren's dreams are important, I'll write up a sequence properly when the time is right! I have so many things planned for this that I promise it will get better, hehe.


	3. Volatilis

Holy cake balls I've got another one! I don't know how, but don't question it I suppose. This one's got a few lessons in there and some good old drama too. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 3

Eren strangely managed to awaken on time for breakfast the next day, with no recollection of his dreams or any fitful sleep. The other boys in his dorm were still sleeping, but his moving about while getting dressed roused Dean and Neville as well. As he tied the red and gold Gryffindor colors around his neck (a little messily) he felt a surge of pride swell in his chest. He was unsure of what courses he would be taking throughout the day as he had not yet received his timetable; with that in mind, he only pocketed his wand and a few basic school supplies in his book bag before setting off in pursuit of breakfast. Mikasa was awake, waiting for him in the common room on one of the armchairs. Eren rolled his eyes and said nothing as she tagged along behind him towards the Great Hall; they followed other Gryffindor students since they still felt a bit lost in the large castle.

They entered the double doors into the Hall and were not too surprised to see a bushy head of brown hair already at the Gryffindor table, eating her sensible breakfast of toast and eggs with a glass of pumpkin juice. She smiled at them brightly and Eren gave her a quick nod. Hermione opened her mouth to say something to them as they sat down, but Eren had already turned away from her to inspect the Ravenclaw table for signs of his best friend. Armin was engrossed in what looked like Hogwarts: A history as he absently shoveled cereal into his mouth. Sensing eyes on him, the blonde was drawn out of his reading and he met Eren's gaze, smiled widely, and promptly went back to his book. Eren laughed a little before turning back around to pile some bacon and fried eggs onto his plate, noticing Hermione's raised eyebrow.

"Your friend has good taste in books!" she commented, and Mikasa reached across Eren to grab the juice pitcher before he could reply.

"Armin's the smartest person I know. He's bound to get top of the class," he finally said back. Hermione's eyes narrowed and she squinted over at the frail-looking blonde Ravenclaw, as if surveying her competition.

"Well, we'll see about that shall we!" she muttered almost to herself. Eren shrugged and continued eating his breakfast. A few moments later, and McGonagall descended from the High Table holding their timetables, passing them out to each student as she came by them.

"Tell me your names," she asked the group of them; as they were all first years, she had yet to become completely familiar with them.

"Eren Jaeger," he replied once she looked at him; she shuffled the documents in her hand a few times before plucking one out and handing it to him, moving on to Mikasa. He gave his timetable a thorough look-over, finding out that that day, a Monday, he would be taking Defense Against the Dark Arts first period, with Herbology in second period. Lunch, and then History of Magic rounded out his day. First years, he supposed, did not get as many classes in the afternoon as the third years and above, since they added on electives starting then and would need more time to take their classes.

He noted that he had a singular Astronomy class on Wednesday night, and Thursdays would give them a flying lesson in the afternoon while Fridays would be home to a double period of Potions; these were only time those classes cropped up on his schedule. Everything else had at least two time periods scattered throughout the week. He wondered which classes he'd get to take with Armin and which classes he'd be spending with the likes of the Slytherins... With that unpleasant thought in mind he stood up, having finished breakfast with fifteen minutes to spare before the first bell was set to ring. He needed to run up to Gryffindor Tower to get his books, and Mikasa hurriedly downed her juice so she could come with him. They got lost a few times but made it back into the main classroom hall just as the bell sounded, the hustle and bustle of students easy to locate.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts class was split that morning with the Hufflepuffs, and thus Eren found himself seated alongside Mikasa with Connie and the dainty blonde Krista on the bench beside them. In front of them (in the first row of course) sat Hermione with a reluctant Neville, who had made it into the classroom last and was forced to take the unpleasant position. Their professor emerged from the back office soon after the second bell, and Eren finally got a close look at him. Apparently his name was Professor Quirrell, and he wore a funny looking purple turban around his head. Harry had told them all as they waited outside the classroom not two minutes prior that the professor was somewhat odd... Eren was beginning to see why.

"Hello c-class, p-please take your b-books out and p-proceed to the first ch-chapter," he stuttered quite a lot, and Eren blinked a few times before shaking his head and getting his book. It was going to be a long year of this before he ever expected to get used to this school.

._._._._._._._.

That evening after dinner, in the Gryffindor common room, Eren was roped into a game of wizard's chess against Ron, while Mikasa scribbled some notes down from their Herbology class earlier that day, a furrow in her brow as she tried to understand the concepts being presented to her in the book. Neville (surprisingly) seemed to understand everything pretty well and was helping her, but she was stubborn and wanted to get everything on her own terms. Harry was watching the game of chess with wide-eyed curiosity.

"Why are you staring like that? What, have you never seen a game of wizard's chess before?" Eren asked, finally unable to stay quiet after feeling Harry's stare on their game shaking his nerves a bit. Harry blushed, and looked away, nodding his head and Eren felt a little guilty for being so brash. Before he could ask why, however, they were interrupted.

"How can you be playing something so barbaric? Especially on a school night!" Hermione chided them from over where she sat reading and writing feverishly in her own textbooks and parchment. Ron rolled his eyes and made a face, which Eren snickered at.

"Is it really any of your business?" the redhead snapped back, and Hermione turned up her nose at him before turning back to her books; Mikasa watched the interaction with her eyes narrowed at the boys. She had noticed the hurt in Hermione's eyes as her comments were rebuked and despite the girl being such a know-it-all with no mind for her own affairs, Mikasa felt bad for her. Sighing loudly, she picked her school supplies up off the chair she had been sitting in and walked over towards Hermione's table, setting up shop quietly around her. Hermione looked a bit surprised, but said nothing and continued working quickly once Mikasa turned to stare at her.

"I'm working on the Herbology assignment. Do you understand it?" the asian girl asked softly. Hermione jumped in her seat, looking up from her neatly scribbled rows of ink towards Mikasa.

"Yes, it's asking for the different ways Devil's Snare can be dangerous, and what can be done to prevent it. It's all in the book but not spelled out in one section."

Mikasa flipped through the textbook quickly and suddenly found another small sentence on the plant, which she immediately scribbled down. Flipping again further, she found a quick paragraph on sunlight and how plants such as Devil's Snare hate it. Adding that to her assignment, she paused to look over at Hermione with a small smile.

"Thank you," she said softly, and Hermione beamed at her.

._._._._._._._.

Friday was their first Potions lesson, and it proved to be quite the occasion as it was the first lesson they shared with the Slytherins (they shared periods with Hufflepuff for Defense and History of Magic, while Transfiguration, Astronomy, and Charms took place with the Ravenclaws; Eren was glad of this, since he could spend time with Armin that way) and it was a double period at that, since Potions only occurred once a week. Eren took his place by Mikasa, his book on his desk and cauldron at the ready for whatever Professor Snape would throw their way. Having only seen the sallow-faced professor at mealtimes thus far, Eren was quite concerned that these lessons were going to prove to be difficult and miserable if the accounts of older Gryffindors like Reiner and the twins were to be believed.

The professor in question entered the dungeon classroom with the door slamming behind him, sour-faced and stern. He reached the front of the classroom and surveyed the students, his face seeming to turn even more unpleasant as he did so. He began calling roll, pausing briefly at Harry's name to make an odd comment.

"Ah, Mister Potter. Our new... celebrity," he said softly, sneering over the roll sheet and then continuing down the list. Eren glanced over at Harry, who seemed just as confused as he was. Professor Snape seemed to have it out for Harry by that one comment, but Eren couldn't be sure as of yet. Pulling his robes about him (Eren thought he rather looked like a large bat) he opened his mouth to begin his lecture.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He barely spoke above a whisper, but Eren found himself along with the rest of the class listening with bated breath. No one seemed to dare opening their mouths to even so much as breathe too loudly. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach," he paused in the strangely loving description of the art of potion-making with a glare that kept everyone quite silent. The scratching of a few quills could be heard, but Snape zeroed in one one of those particularly.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Harry blinked, pausing in his note-taking to stare helplessly up at the professor. Hermione's hand shot up into the air as expected; Snape ignored her.

"I don't know, sir," he finally said. Snape's lip curled up into another sneer, before he asked another impossible question. Eren shot a very confused look over at his sister, who was equally scrutinizing their potions-master's actions.

"Clearly, some of us have come to Hogwarts without any idea of what is expected of them. Fame isn't everything, is it? Mister Potter," he enunciated his words with venom dripping from them; Harry's defiant look would have worked save his ears going a bit red from embarrassment. Malfoy, who was sitting next to Jean Kirstein, snickered audibly alongside him. Eren glared daggers at the two of them, wishing that he were closer so that he could kick the two of them under the table in the back of the legs.

"You will now proceed to brew the potion on the board. Copy the instructions down to the letter, then begin. I will inspect your work after the time is up. No talking," Snape instructed, and the students diligently set to work.

By the end of the period, Mikasa's potion was of course the perfect shade of light green whilst Eren's was more of an emerald; Draco and Jean both had decently colored grass-colored potions. Seamus had blown his potion up, as he had been tending to do with most spells he attempted, while Dean's was a strange brownish-green color. Hermione too had gotten the correct result, while Ron and Harry (who seemed to be working identically) both had an odd colored blue. Neville's was pink. Snape sneered at the lot of them while marking down their results, all the while looking extremely imposing, before telling them to clean up and get out of his sight.

Once at lunch, Harry expressed his utter befuddlement at the treatment he received from Snape in the class, and Eren nodded at him vehemently.  
"I can't believe the old bat treated you like that, it was completely directed at you," he agreed, taking a bite of a grilled cheese sandwich. Reiner Braun suddenly sat on the other side of him, dropping his book bag to the floor.

"Snape hates everyone, don't think you're special in that sense Potter," he grinned, nudging Eren in the side a bit. "You just gotta keep your head low and try not to screw up. Read the instructions not twice, but three times if that's what you need; Potions is finicky like that," the already-built second year student advised, piling some grilled ham onto his plate and taking a swig of pumpkin juice.

"No but he really had it out for Harry; since he called roll and saw his name on there!" Ron retorted, waving his fork to emphasize his point but forgetting he had a grilled sausage attached to the end of it. Mikasa reached over and patted his arm down; Ron blushed. Reiner shoveled food into his mouth faster than Eren thought humanly possible before shrugging.

"Ah, whatever, I know you'll get used to it. Snape's always been a bit of a wanker. Now I gotta go, meeting up with some friends before next period. Watch yourselves, eh?" he grinned, clapping Eren on the back hard enough for him to drop his sandwich onto his plate; he smiled weakly. He watched Reiner walk over towards the doors, where strangely enough the scary-looking blonde girl from the train, a Slytherin, was seemingly waiting for him alongside the tall brunet male from Ravenclaw who sat by Armin on occasion at mealtimes.

"That's weird," he mumbled, watching them walk off.

"What's weird?" Armin himself had made his way over to their table to briefly sit himself next to Eren; it filled him with a sense of joy to see his friend defying House norms and sitting with them regardless, which had started happening more often during lunchtime and breakfast but never at dinner.

"Reiner knows those two? How is that normal?" Eren gestured towards the retreating backs of the odd trio of friends. Armin took a swig of juice from Eren's goblet, book already out onto the table.

"Oh! Those are Bertholdt's best friends from when they were kids. Kinda like us. Bertholdt's a second year in my house, and Annie's in Slytherin. They've known each other a while and don't let House prejudices mess with their friendship. I think it's rather nice, don't you?" Armin explained brightly. Eren's mixed feelings evaporated with these words, and he smiled at his blonde friend.

"Armin, you always know what to say to make me feel better about stuff," he muttered, and received a smile in return.

._._._._._._._.

The afternoon of their first flying lesson, during the second week of school on Thursday, saw them exhausted from two very taxing Charms and Transfiguration lessons; Eren was hoping that he'd get the hang of his new wand soon, because for now it kept behaving exactly the opposite of how he wanted it to. Naturally, Mikasa was quite far ahead of him in everything that she tried, which frustrated him immensely; he hoped that flying would show him to be in the lead, for once. It was a double lesson with the Slytherins, who up until now had not had any lessons with the Gryffindors besides Potions and they seemed to not be happy about it.

Eren found himself and the other Gryffindors lined up in a single file outside on the Quidditch pitch, with the Slytherins facing them. Madam Hooch, their instructor, was barking orders at them to stand in front of their brooms and reach their hands over it, then on her count to shout UP! until it came to them. Eren was face to face with that arrogant looking Slytherin boy named Jean; he allowed a determined look to cross his features before he began the process. To his left, Mikasa had already gotten her broom; further down the line, Harry's had also shot up into his outstretched hand immediately. Unfortunately, Draco Malfoy had the same result. Eren braced himself and shouted, "UP!" and was displeased to find the broom not in his hands within the instant. It only made him feel slightly better to see that arrogant face of Jean's slacken a bit as he too seemed to be having trouble.

"UP! Up! ... up? UP!" Eren screamed loudly enough the fifth time for Mikasa to wince, but finally the broom shot into his hand and he gripped it tightly. Jean was glaring at him, but on his sixth try he too had the broom in his hand. Once everyone had their brooms finally grasped (Ron had managed to hit himself in the face with his, somehow) Madam Hooch instructed them to begin mounting them.

"Once you're all in position, and only on my whistle, will you kick off from the ground hard. Then hover for a minute, lean forward, and touch back down. On my whistle! Three, two, o- Mr. Longbottom, get down this instant!" she was cut off from her countdown as Neville seemed to have risen out of sequence and was escalating much higher up than he should have. He flailed around as desperately as he could while still being terrified and rooted to his broom, but without warning the broom took off and zoomed across the Quidditch pitch. The Slytherins were all snickering as poor Neville lost control, finally falling right off the broom and onto the rocky path up to the castle with a loud thud. Madam Hooch barked at everyone to stay put as she ran over to him; the students followed her anyway, still clutching their brooms and very curious to see what had happened.

"Oh, dear it's a broken wrist. I'll take you up to the hospital wing... Everyone, stay where you are! If I so much as catch any one of you on a broom, you'll be expelled before you can say 'Quidditch', you hear?" she ordered, marching off to the castle with Neville in tow. A subdued whispering broke out amongst everyone, the Slytherins still cackling and imitating Neville while the Gryffindors glared at them.

"Think it's so funny, eh? Let's see you try to hold onto a broom for as long as he did with no experience, you jerk!" Eren finally snapped at Jean, who had been imitating Neville to Malfoy and Zabini with much too much vigor.

"Shut up! Your fat friend couldn't stay on his broom for other reasons than skill, I'd say," Jean then puffed up his cheeks and stumbled around, Malfoy howling with laughter and Zabini holding his sides. Eren could feel himself getting fired up, but Mikasa grabbed him and held onto his arm quite firmly before he could punch the sandy-haired Slytherin.

"Oh, look at this! The fat lump dropped it, it must have been squeezed out of his pockets," Malfoy bent over to pick up Neville's remembrall, which had most certainly come out of his robes during the fall. Harry finally had enough, it seemed, for he stepped forward with his hand outstretched.

"Give it back, Malfoy. It's not yours," he said firmly. Malfoy exchanged a glance over at Jean and the rest of his Slytherin friends.

"Finders keepers, Potter. Unless you want to take it from me," he mounted his own broom and smoothly rose into the air, showing off his Pure-Blood upbringing which had given him plenty of time to practice flying. Harry glared at him and climbed onto his own broom; Hermione tried to stop him, but he shrugged her off and rose into the sky in pursuit of Malfoy.

"Potter's always trying to show off, isn't he?" Jean spoke loudly to the rest of the Slytherins, and Eren tried jerking himself away from Mikasa to deck him.

"Shut up! You're just a spoiled mama's boy who has nothing better to do than make fun of others! Get a life, Kirstein!" he screeched at the other boy; something about Jean rubbed him the wrong way. Jean narrowed his eyes at Eren, noticing how Mikasa's protective gaze and strong grip were the only thing holding the angry boy back. In that moment, he felt a sense of jealousy that Eren had someone as pretty and strong as Mikasa to hang out with and be around, so instead of wisely keeping his mouth shut he let loose.

"Well, at least my mum taught me manners enough to not yell at everyone all the time! What's wrong with yours? Bet she was a Muggle, it would make sense with the way he acts-" Jean was cut off suddenly by Eren's fist hitting his face. Mikasa, upon hearing Jean insult their mother, had let her grip on Eren slacken and her brother flew at the other boy screaming and fists whirling. Jean was too surprised to even react, Eren tackling him to the ground and landing another punch, the sounds of bones cracking snapping Mikasa out of it enough to rush over and pull Eren off of him.

"YOU ABSOLUTE ARSE! TALK ABOUT MY MUM ONE MORE TIME!" he was screaming, and Mikasa barely had enough presence of mind to restrain him; Dean and Seamus finally snapped out of it enough to come to her assistance, grabbing Eren's thrashing arms as she held onto his chest. At this point, Harry and Draco had returned, Harry victorious it seemed in obtaining Neville's remembrall; upon seeing Jean bleeding on the ground clutching his nose, and Eren's fists clenched with smears of red across them, Harry's grin at besting Malfoy faded.

Professor McGonagall too, was displeased. She had witnessed Harry's miraculous catch of the nearly invisible glass ball and her keen senses told her to take this as a sign of prodigy and pomp for her House Quidditch team; arriving to collect the boy, however, she came across what could almost have become a full blown riot between the two young boys (Kirstein and Jaeger) and their friends. Lips pulled into a thin line, she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Potter! Jaeger! Kirstein! Ackerman! With me. The rest of you, put those brooms down and sit on the floor. If you're unable to behave like young ladies and gentleman, you'll be treated like children instead," she ordered, and began to smartly walk back to her office. The students she'd called trailed behind her with their heads held low, nervous. Once in her office she turned directly to Mikasa and demanded an explanation.

"Since you seem to have been the only one really refraining these two from bludgering themselves further, I would like to know just why they were doing so in the first place," she crossed her hands together on her desk, waiting.

"Professor," Mikasa began, head held low, "I hate to sound biased because I'm in Gryffindor, but the Slytherins were making fun of Neville who had fallen off his broom and Madam Hooch took him to the hospital wing. Malfoy took his remembrall and Harry tried getting it back, and Eren and Jean were arguing because of Neville and then they insulted each other and Jean said something about Eren's and my mum, and instead of holding him back I let him go... Eren punched him. Then I grabbed him off of Jean and you arrived."

Jean, whose nose had been bleeding freely at this point, was whimpering ever so noticeably from where he stood, but his eyes widened a bit as he heard Mikasa explain everything.

"Yoube relabed?" he said through his hands, which were trying to staunch the blood flow.

"I beg your pardon, Mister Kirstein?" Professor McGonagall had a vein protruding along her forehead as this statement was spoken; she seemed to be getting rather fed up with it all.

"Yoube hib sisteph?" Jean tried again, and Mikasa seemed to understand.

"I'm adopted. My parents were killed when I was eight. Eren's family adopted me. Our mom was killed by Death Eater supporters." Mikasa's blunt words seemed to shock even the professor, and Jean had the good sense to hang his head in shame (with more blood dripping to the floor as he did so).

"Alright, you two. You both have cost yourselves 10 points from each of your Houses and a detention with me for fighting. This punishment has nothing to do with the words that were exchanged, but simply for the actions that were taken, you understand?" she spoke firmly. "Ackerman, you can go. Potter, stay with me. Kirstein and Jaeger, go to the hospital wing and I'll expect you after dinner for that detention."

On their way to the hospital wing, Eren and Jean remained in stony silence. That silence persisted upon entering into Madam Pomfrey's care, and they ignored each other even when the matron asked them what had happened to get them into this state. Neville was already there of course, sitting on a hospital bed with a grimace on his face as his wrist was mending. With a flick of her wand, the blood flow from Jean's nose stopped.

" _Episkey_ ," she muttered, and the bones on his face snapped back into place with a crunch. Jean whined loudly and Eren didn't bother to repress his smirk. Madam Pomfrey handed Jean a warm cloth to wipe his face off with while she searched for a potion to replenish blood loss; once he had taken it, she sent him on his way and turned to Eren.

"You didn't break anything, but you busted your knuckles open. Here, put them in this essence of murtlap, it's going to feel odd but it will soothe the skin until it's clean and I can mend it."

With his instructions given, Eren sat himself onto a hospital bed and dipped his hands into the purple-blue liquid set in the bowl in front of him. He let out a sigh, turning to look at Neville who was getting another round of the matron's wandwork. Suddenly, the doors burst open and Eren's head snapped to look over at the two newcomers: Krista, the pretty blonde Hufflepuff, was being pushed into the hospital wing by the brunet second-year Slytherin girl with freckles. Eren marveled a bit at the two of them but recalled how oddly enough when not in respective classes or at mealtimes, the two of them were rarely seen apart.

"Krista's gotten herself bitten, can you fix her?" the older girl yelped at Madam Pomfrey, eyes wild and her grip on the smaller girl tight. Krista herself seemed less concerned.

"I'm fine, Ymir, it was just a love bite, she didn't mean anything by it..." she tried whispering, but the girl, Ymir, wouldn't have it.

"I'm telling you, it might not be! Just in case we need to check, I don't have anything with me to fix it myself..." she hissed back, and thrust Krista's arm out towards Madam Pomfrey. From his perch on the hospital bed, two incisions could be seen at her wrist, looking like a snake bite.

"Miss Nott, calm yourself. What on earth bit her, may I ask?" the nurse narrowed her eyes; Ymir squirmed uncomfortably.

"My pet snake Medusa... She was startled by another student while Krista was petting her and she bit her. I don't think she excreted poison but I'd like you to check," Ymir started off a bit contritely, but pulled herself into a disposition typical of a Slytherin Pure-Blood, used to ordering people around and expecting results. Madam Pomfrey clicked her tongue.

"Students aren't supposed to have snakes as pets, you know this. Why on earth would you bring one into the school?" she tutted, taking Krista's arm and immediately muttering some spells under her breath while waving her wand over the wound.

"She's been my pet ever since I was little. Father's old and couldn't care less, and my little brother's too much of a bookworm to care about pets. She minds her own business, as one should," Ymir's last words were pointed, directed almost at Madam Pomfrey herself: daring her, it seemed, to report her unauthorized pet to the Headmaster or to Snape. Eren figured that even if Snape did get word of this he would probably do nothing, since he favored his own House too much.

"It's really not hurting me, and it's not a big issue... Please, Ymir..." Krista kept trying to placate everything, her large blue eyes wide and begging. The matron sighed loudly and waved her wand again; the wounds were gone.

"Luckily for you, there was no venom. I would advise you to keep that snake locked up unless it is just you; there are others who wouldn't hesitate to report this," she chided, turning on her heel briskly and walking over to Eren. Ymir Nott audibly let out a puff of air and threw her arm around Krista.

"See luv? It wasn't a big deal after all!" she grinned, and Krista rolled her eyes but smiled up at the brunet regardless. Ymir noticed Eren staring at them with his mouth hanging open a little bit, and glared daggers at him on her way out. As they were leaving, the doors swung open again to reveal Armin and Mikasa who ran straight for him.

"Eren! I heard you got into trouble, Mikasa found me and explained everything... Are you okay?" Armin's eyes were filled with worry and his hands hovered, outstretched towards his best friend wanting to grab his hand for comfort (although Eren's hands were still immersed in the murtlap, making this impossible) so they dropped to his sides again.

"I'm fine, Armin. That jerk Kirstein had a go at mum, so I had a go at him," he mumbled. Madam Pomfrey seemed to be trying to refrain from smiling a little at this interaction, but she took his hands out of the mixture and dried them. With another wave of her wand, his skin knitted back together and his knuckles were healed. Immediately Armin grabbed his hands and squeezed them tightly, blue eyes strangely fierce.

"Eren, please don't get yourself in trouble anymore. I don't want to have to worry... I mean... I know that you can be better at controlling your temper. Just, don't go around hitting people when you can use your words to take them down," Armin said softly. Mikasa simply fidgeted with the Gryffindor scarf around her neck.

"Armin, you're the one who's good with words. Not me. I can't help it when people upset me, I just..." Eren thought back on how that blinding rage overcame him when Jean insulted his mother, and a tightening in his chest furrowed his brow. "I know mum wouldn't want me to fight people like I did, but that's all I can do to defend her now." Armin bit his lip but figured he was fighting a losing battle; Eren was stubborn, after all.

"Okay, just promise me not to get into any fights if I'm not around to help you," he muttered, eyes sparkling. Eren grinned at him.

"You, help me? Last time I looked I was always saving you from Malfoy and his goons!"

"Idiots, I was the one doing all the real work," Mikasa chimed in, a small smile gracing her serious features after a beat.

"I expect _none_ of you to be fighting anyone, you hear? Now off with you!" Madam Pomfrey cut in from her position over by Neville's bed, who also seemed to be much better. As they left the hospital wing and wandered over to the library (running into the twins who were harassing an unwitting Hufflepuff named Marco) Eren was grateful to have such good friends to stick by him no matter when the going got rough.

._._._._._._._.

That night, Eren's dreams were as vivid as he could remember having them. He was witnessing the death of his mother over and over again, her blood splattered and dripping through the wooden floorboards of the family home, his screams muffled by Hannes as he was dragged away from her body. He cried out as soon as the image morphed into something new, blooming like a rose from the life spilled from his mother into that of a clean, pristine room where he lay, the hospital at St. Mungos... Then his father's face appeared, and the vibrant green of his bespectacled eyes was suddenly a whirling fireplace; he felt restraints, thrashing against them, he couldn't move...

"Dad! Help me! Let me go!" his younger voice screeched and cracked; his father's voice was soothing but urgent.

"Eren, you must lie still, take this and remember later; avenge her!" the last words came to him as if underwater, muffled. His focus shifted onto the large syringe in his father's hand.

"What are you doing? Dad, stop! Help me!" he began crying, flailing his arms and legs as hard as he could against the restraints. The needle pierced his skin and his screams magnified into roars of pain as liquid fire injected into his veins; fire was all he saw, fire and ash...

He sat up in bed, a scream in his throat. Sweat dripped down his forehead and onto the mussed sheets. Breathing heavily, he turned to see if he had awoken any of his fellow roommates. None; wait, one. Harry was staring at him from the bed next to his own, green eyes wide and scrutinous.

"I guess I'm not the only one with bad dreams then," Harry said quietly, and Eren's heart rate slowed to a more manageable rate. Pulling at the tangled blankets, he stood up to grab a glass of water from the pitcher on his bedside table; he gulped it down, followed by another. He was a little embarrassed to talk to Harry about this, yet out of everyone Harry might be someone who understood. He too had lost his parents.

"I don't remember my dream anymore," Eren spoke, quiet and resigned. In the moment, the dream was at its most vivid, a powerful vision that had terrified him enough to provoke him awake. Now, the memory of it seeped away like the sweat from his brow.

"I barely remember mine, but I do remember they upset me. There's always this flash of green light..." Harry whispered back, and Eren finally turned to look at him.

"That's from the Killing Curse. My mum got the same." Eren's words caused Harry to sit up a little straighter and for him to pull his glasses onto his face slowly.

"She was killed by Death Eater supporters, crazy guys who wanted to prove something just because she was a Muggle. Mikasa and I saw it happen. Right in front of us, they tortured... and hurt her... Until they finally had enough," Eren continued on, unbidden. He seemed much older in that moment than his eleven years would assume.

"I was too little to remember much, but I do remember that light. I guess it was my mum..." Harry muttered quietly.

"Yeah. Probably," Eren trailed off awkwardly, unsure why he felt so comfortable talking to Harry about this.

"You know I'm going to be the Gryffindor Seeker?" Harry suddenly blurted out, diverging the subject into a less unpleasant one. Eren sat back on his bed, eyes wide.

"No way! Is that what McGonagall wanted to talk about? No one in their first year gets on the Quidditch team, that's amazing!" he whispered back, pulling the blankets over his legs. "I want to join when I can; I hope they'll take me. I need a broom but Mikasa will let me get one when we're eligible. Maybe we can buy some the summer before just to practice a bit," Eren mumbled, eyes shining with the prospect. For now, Harry would get to be the cool guy in their year on the Quidditch team, but when Eren got the chance, he too would attempt to join and see what waves he could make on the Quidditch field.

"I just can't wait to see the look on Malfoy's face when he finds out," Harry said, a grin spreading onto his face as he leaned back, glasses set back off onto his table. Eren grinned back.

"Yeah. Him and that loser Jean. When we're both on the team I bet we'll beat Slytherin every game!" he said, and then rolled over to try and sleep some more, hoping for the bad dreams to have gone for good.

* * *

Well, what did you all think? I decided to make Ymir related to Theodore Nott because it fit where I wanted her character to go (plus she's never given a last name in canon, more revealed on her later of course) and we finally get a glimpse of Jean and his shenanigans... Plus the Titan Trio in the background! Ahh I'm excited for more things to happen hehe~ Leave me a nice comment or something to get me motivated!


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